These dry tears…

They had just about run dry. She had not stopped crying for days it seemed. Had it been her? Had she done something wrong? Was it her? Or had she just been unlucky? Had she been an innocent bystander who had gotten in the way, or had she just used up all she could give? But…

These dry tears kept falling. Or at least wanted to fall. She didn't seem capable of mustering up anymore. Her mind screamed and bore tears of her broken heart, but her body was through with the emotional breakdown she had thrown at it. But these dry tears wanted nothing more but to continue to fall forever. But it was time to move on.

Rogue threw the thick blankets off of her self; revealing a red, tear stricken face. The cool air of the room hit her, and nearly stung her unsuspecting cheeks. She blinked open her eyes, and quickly shut them again. The daylight was so bright, coming through her window. She had been under her covers for days it seemed, and her eyes reacted badly to the sudden sunlight. Rubbing her eyes, Rogue sat up and swung her legs slowly over the side of the bed. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It read 12:07 p.m. And it also told the date. She had only been there since last night. It had seemed like much longer.

On shaky legs, Rogue stood and stepped toward her dresser. She pulled out a few articles of clothing, along with her white gloves. It was true that Rogue had taken the so-called "cure" that the humans had extracted from that poor boy. But it hadn't worked. Her mutant powers…if they could be called that, came back in full force a few weeks after she had had the treatment. She had been holding Bobby's hand…she nearly killed him. Rogue pulled a small bottle out of the dresser as well. She shook it lightly. The items inside rattled freely, and she could tell she was nearly out.

Rogue walked toward her door, grabbing a towel along the way. The hallways were pretty much empty. Most of the students were probably in classes with Storm and Logan. Rogue smiled at the thought. No matter what hurt she felt, it always brought a smile to her face when she thought of Logan teaching a class full time. Not just helping out someone else. The shower room was empty, which was how Rogue preferred it. She never got used to walking around in nothing but her towel in front of all of the other girls. Quickly, she undressed and turned the water on.

Half an hour later, Rogue stood fully clothed, in front of the shower room mirror. Her now gloved hands reached for the bottle she had brought with her, and opened the cap. Only six left… Carefully tilting the bottle over, one of the small white pills fell into her awaiting hand. Tilting her head back, She swallowed the small pill with ease. After about a minute or two, the effects began to take place. Rogue could feel her power, the mutant gene that she hated, leaving her. Slowly, she pulled off her gloves and placed them carefully into her back pocket. They were no longer needed.

This had been the routine ever since she got her hands on the precious pills. The cure that the humans had come up with had only worked temporarily. So did the pills, but she could take them everyday, and the effects would last long enough to keep her from harming anyone.

Rogue tried on a smile. It was almost painful, as she hadn't done it for some time. It looked fake. She sighed and stuffed the pills back into her pocket. Turning away from the mirror, she knew that her smile would fool no one. Might as well not even Try…and she didn't.

Why did she stay here? It wasn't like she had someone who she wanted to be with here, not since he… Rogue pushed the thought away. But why was she still here? She wasn't a mutant, not really. Because it was her home. Her parents wouldn't accept her back. She didn't have anywhere else to go.

She sat down next to a tree that was in the courtyard of the school. She hadn't remembered any of that last class. It had all seemed so useless. Rogue opened a book from her bag and read a few lines. She sighed. Reading didn't have any appeal either. Speaking of appeal…

There he was. They guy she had thought would love her forever. And Bobby wasn't alone. Rogue eyed KittyPride with anger. It was because of her that Bobby had left Rogue…or was it? Maybe it was because of her mutant power…but that issue had been fixed. Maybe Bobby just didn't care for her anymore, not like he used to. The pair hadn't spotted Rogue yet, and she didn't plan on letting them. Quickly stuffing her book into her bag, Rogue stood and walked briskly toward the doors to the inside of the school. She couldn't help but notice the pair out of the corner of her eyes when she passed.

"Rogue!"

Rogue nearly fell over in her surprise. She quickened her pace, hoping that whomever had called her hadn't attracted the attention of Bobby and his new girlfriend. "Hey, Rogue!" The same voice called again. It was Logan, she could tell from the voice, but she didn't slow any.

"Hey, kid." Logan said, catching up to the girl. Rogue sighed, no getting rid of him now…

Trying to act as if she hadn't heard him the first two times, Rogue turned toward her adult friend and smiled. "Logan! What's going on?"

"You looked a little out of it during class, you okay?" Rogue had to admit, she did have a good friend in Logan. He was always there to convince her not to do something rash. But this was something he would not, and could not help with.

"I'm- yeah! I'm fine, I just…didn't get much sleep last night." She said through a dry laugh. Logan gave her that "Ah, I see" Look, that clearly said he didn't believe her. But he simply shrugged.

"Okay, well if you want to talk or anything, you know where to find me." He said, pulling a cigar out of his pocket. Logan must have noticed her looking at the cigar. He gestured with it, asking without words if she wanted one. Rogue laughed and shook her head. "See you around, kid."

And Logan was off, not toward the school, but toward the garage. She noticed that he had been taking one of Cyclops's motorcycles out very often. Not that Cyclops would mind, now that he was… But Logan was going through things too, even if he wouldn't admit it. Rogue had seen how Logan had obviously loved Jean.

"Rogue?" A soft voice spoke out from right behind her, causing her to jump. She spun around to face Bobby. Why? What more did he have left to do to her?

"Marie." She simply stated. It was one thing that Logan called her by her mutant name, but Bobby didn't have that privilege. Not anymore.

"Marie…I just wanted to make sure that your okay. I mean I know how close we were. I just don't want you to-"

"Do what, Bobby?" Rogue asked, furiously. "Commit suicide? Because you were cheating on me? Or do you want me to be well enough to leave this place, leave you to your new girlfriend?"

Bobby sighed. "It's not like that, I didn't think you would commit suicide or anything, but…" He was at a loss for words. She had caught him, and now he felt foolish. Served him right.

"Why don't you do me, Kitty, and yourself a favor and just leave me alone. Don't even come near me!" She said, inching closer to him by the second. He infuriated her. Did he think she was a child, incapable of getting over something? Well she wasn't, and in fact, she had gotten over him already. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

Bobby grabbed her hand. "Wait Marie. I don't want this to end on these terms, I still want to be your friend."

"You were kissing her in MY room! What did you think, that I was just going to say go ahead, you two. Have a happily ever after, and oh yeah, we can still be friends! Do you know how naive you sound!"

"I didn't plan that, I didn't realize I loved her like that until she kissed me. And I'm sorry that it happened to be in your-"

Bobby stopped. His eyes widened. Rogue stared at him, waiting for the rest. It didn't come. Bobby's mouth gaped open slowly, and his face began to crack and tear. Rogue felt a cold, tingling sensation throughout her body. She tore herself away from him so quickly that he fell to the floor, hitting his face on the concrete ground.

"B- Bobby!" She gasped. Fear rushed through her veins as she realized what was happening. No…no no no no no! But no matter how much she denied it, she knew that it had happened. Without even calling for help, Rogue darted off toward the doors. She didn't glance back at her unconscious ex.

These dry tears…

Again with the tears. It was the one thing that could make her life worse than it already was. A lot worse. Why hadn't the pill stopped her from having powers? It had never failed before. She swallowed the third one she had taken in the last five minutes with the half full glass of water beside her. She sat in the corner of her room, tears streaking her face.

A soft knock came at her door. Rogue looked up at it, but didn't answer. Again, the person on the other side knocked, slightly more forceful this time. Nearly choking on her words as they mixed with the salty tears that didn't want to stop, Rogue answered, "What do you want?"

"Hey, kid." Came Logan's voice, slightly muffled through the door. "Can I come in?"

Rogue sighed. She couldn't deny him entry now. She slowly walked to the door and carefully opened it, just enough to see Logan's face. "Can I help you?" She asked, not trying to hide her tears.

Logan looked down to his feet as he smiled. Looking back up, he replied, "Do you wanna talk?" He asked. It looked hard for him. Logan had never been an emotional guy, at least not to other people. Rogue shook her head no, and tried to close the door. Logan caught it with his hand.

"Then, just listen?" He asked. Rogue couldn't speak, or she might burst into another fit of tears. But she let go of the door and backed up, allowing Logan to enter. He walked toward the bed, sitting down on the edge. Rogue couldn't recall a time that he had been in here before. "Nice place. A little plain, but…"

Rogue smiled. "You didn't come to see my room." She offered, surprised that the tears hadn't come. Logan had a way of making her feel better in times like these.

Logan chuckled. "No, I guess not." He looked around, and his eyes fell on the bottle that lay open on the floor. "I told you those were a bad idea. Now, what? They don't work?"

Rogue shook her head. "I…I don't know what happened…they…I took one this morning…but…he just took my hand! Like he had a right to!" The tears began to fall now, but she plowed through them. "I didn't mean to do it. I thought they would keep it from happening again. But they didn't. Just like the shot. Am I not supposed to be able to be normal? Do I always have to be a freak? Do I always have to hurt people?" With that she collapsed beside Logan, burying her face in his arm.

He put his arm around her, and his chin on her head. "No one expects you to be perfect. You're not a freak, kid. You just, you have to find out how to make your power work for you. You can't try to hide it. Then you start getting addicted to this stuff." He said, gesturing toward the bottle on the floor.

After a few moments of silence, Rogue had stopped sobbing. Logan leaned back to look at her. Her eyes were closed. But though she might not have heard what he said, she did seem at peace now that she was asleep. Now that she had gotten what was on her mind off of her shoulders. Careful as to not wake her, Logan placed her in her bed properly, and pulled the blankets over her. Her sat at the edge of the bed, watching her or a moment. He stood and said quietly, "Good night, kid."

As he opened the door, he heard a soft voice behind him. "You would have a made a good father…"

Logan stopped mid step. Maybe he and Jean could have been happy…but that was the past. Maybe some day…"Thanks, kid."

Rogue stood in front of the mirror again. The small bottle was held in her left hand. Only two left. Rogue emptied the bottle into her hand and tossed the empty plastic toward a trashcan. Two small white pills, they had the power to make her pain go way for as long as they would last in her adapting body. Was it worth it?

The courtyard was more generously populated today than it had been yesterday. Rogue walked alone toward the same tree she had sat against the day before and sat down. Logan seemed happier today then she had seen him since before Jean's death. And she had to admit, seeing him trying to explain the workings of the motorcycles and cars in the garage was funny.

Pulling out a book, Rogue began to read. After a few minutes, she put it back in her bag. Some things were not going to change, not quickly anyway. She looked around her, at all of the people. The mutants. All of them had powers, and they learned to live with them no matter how strange they seemed. That green boy didn't seem to have a problem with his. Rogue spied a guy sitting on a tree branch. His hair was moving, but not with the breeze. It seemed to have a mind of it's own. Like a tame medusa. Rogue smiled. And then a sight that might have made her cringe was unveiled. Bobby was walking hand in hand with Kitty. Iceman and KittyPride. It didn't have much of a ring to it, but who was she to care? Bobby spotted her and spoke to Kitty. She nodded and turned around, letting him approach Rogue on his own.

Rogue looked down to her bag and closed it. Standing, she began to move toward the school, toward Bobby. "Marie!" He said. His smile was false, and it was evident that he felt embarrassed about what had happened. She stopped in front of him, and looked up at his face.

"It's Rogue." She said simply. And with that, she moved past him and slid her white gloves on.